ILWU joins picketing truck drivers and Long Beach, LA ports

Teamsters picket the Long Beach Container Terminal in Long Beach, CA on Monday, April 28, 2014. Teamsters are planning a 48-hour strike at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in support of truckers.
(Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze)

LONG BEACH >> More than 100 port truck drivers and their supporters on Monday picketed several trucking companies and marine terminals at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, causing a work stoppage at one terminal and truck traffic backups at others.

The picketers, who started their 48-hour strike at 6 a.m. at Long Beach Container Terminal carrying signs and blaring vuvuzelas, said they are at the terminals to protest trucking firms Green Fleet Systems, Total Transportation Services Inc. and Pacific 9 Transportation.

They say the trucking companies have been able to use the job classification of independent workers to pay truckers who haul cargo in and out of the ports less and deny them protections that employees get under state and federal laws.

Industry experts estimate that only 10 percent of truckers are employed by companies, and in recent years, truckers who are classified as independent contractors have filed lawsuits and complaints with state and federal labor agencies to change their status.

Truckers have also said that the companies have retaliated or threatened them for wanting to unionize.

“Companies have given us no other reason than to come to the port, strike and let them understand that we need to be respected,” said Carson resident Douglas Herrera, who’s worked at Pacific 9 as a truck driver for four years.

The early-morning picket caused International Longshore and Warehouse Union workers to momentarily halt work and caused some truck traffic backups as workers spilled out into the street. Under the ILWU contract, workers have to stand by when a picket line is established and wait for a federal arbitrator to decide whether the strike is bona fide, which would allow them to honor the picket.

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But by noon Monday, an arbitrator ruled that longshore workers at the ports had to return to work and that ruling applied to all port terminals. Trucker pickets also took place in the late afternoon at Evergreen and Yusen terminals at the Port of Los Angeles, though the ILWU weren’t allowed to participate.

Alex Cherin, a spokesman for the trucking companies, has said the recent actions were part of a Teamsters union plan to push the truckers to organize.

The California Trucking Association and the Harbor Trucking Association — which represents owner-operators, small for-hire fleets and national and international carriers — said in a statement Monday that truckers are within their rights “to freely and safely access marine terminals during today’s protests.”

“While we fundamentally disagree with the ongoing effort by special interest groups to prevent owner-operators from doing business at the ports, we respect individuals’ rights to peacefully exercise free speech,” according to the association.

TTSI, one of the trucking companies being picketed Monday, also issued a statement saying it is discouraged that “outside groups” are spending money to battle an issue that “a vast majority of harbor truck drivers have soundly rejected time and time again.

“There are literally hundreds of unfilled vacancies for company drivers throughout Southern California,” TTSI officials said in a statement. “If a driver wants to become an employee, rather than an independent contractor, he or she can do so. Unfortunately, this simple fact has been lost on groups who would rather see companies go out of business than continue to provide economic opportunities for thousands of drivers and their families.”

Supporters who rallied at the Wilmington Waterfront Park spoke about the companies’ union-busting tactics and workers’ checks that are diminished by deductions incurred for being an “independent contractor.”

“These used to be good paying jobs, and they’ve basically turned them into slave jobs,” said Eric Tate, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 848. “The companies are pointing us out as the enemy when we’re just trying to police the industry.”

Rep. Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro, voiced her support for the truckers’ efforts.

“It was not too long ago that I stood where you are on the picket line fighting for fair and just employment, and the ability to fight collectively is crucial in your ability to speak as one strong, unified voice,” Hahn said in a statement. “As American workers, you deserve the basic rights such as fair wages, overtime pay and a safe workplace.”

Pickets are expected to continue today.

Contact Karen Robes Meeks at 562-714-2088.

About the Author

Newspaper reporter with more than a decade of experience in journalism. I cover trade and transportation. Reach the author at karen.robes@langnews.com
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